DAVIS ENTERPRISE -- Akhavass is a world-class percussionist, founder and music director of Akhavass Productions, and modern-day virtuoso of Persian percussive instruments tombak and daf.

Born in 1980 in Iran, he began learning youth music theory and tombak at the age of 5. With the support of his father, Akhavass studied tombak with Naser Farhang Far and Saeid Roudbary.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Sureh University of Tehran in 2005, a bachelor’s degree in world music from San Francisco State University in 2016 and currently is in the master’s program at SFSU.